I have heard ice fishing for cafish can be productive but I never hear anybody even trying let alone catching. Can anyone help?
Welcome to Bigfish. I might be mistaken but I think there was a post a few weeks back about someone catching a few out at willard this year. Not sure who posted the report but when it comes to cats Tubedude will have the answer for ya.
thanks.
Good fishing
**Channel cats can be taken all year long…even under the ice. They are much slower and do not feed as actively in the cold water, but they will still hit lures, especially with a bit of bait attached. **
**Guys who fish just for cats usually set up one of their rods with a crawler or minnow on the bottom and then use their first rod to jig. But, catching cats through the ice is much the same as for walleyes. That is that most of the ones you catch are by accident…hooked while fishing for some other species. **
Each year there are a few nice cats caught off the Lincoln Beach area on Utah Lake. A few “cat men” set two lines just for cats and do not even bother with jigging for white bass or walleyes.
At Willard Bay, there are a lot more cats taken through the ice than wipers or any other species. The fish are not big…15" to 18" average…but they do school up in deep holes and where you catch one you can usually get more. Again, a whole crawler, small minnow, piece of carp meat or a jig with some of the baits mentioned will all get attention. Just be prepared to haul up your second line if a wiper decides to munch your cat offerings. They like to make big wide circles under the ice and they will wrap any other lines in the water.
If you know where there are any warm springs in Utah Lake, you can increase your odds of finding a kitty by fishing in the warmer flows. Just be careful if ice fishing because those springs thin the ice up and even result in open spots.
As mentioned Cats dont stop feeding during the ice season. Forgive me for being a name dropper but Sewfish will testify to that. As I recall the kitty iced at Yuba about a week ago by Sewfish was 11+ pounds.
Also as mentioned, not everyone will deliberately target kittys under the ice, not every one, but I have. But I also deliberately target Walleye during the ice season. And have caught both while doing so. The best advice I can give you is make sure your kitty bait is fairly fresh and keep it on or very close to the bottom. I choose to avoid the muddy bottom. I like rocky or a sandy bottom. Tip ups (or an auto hooker) works very well for kitty fishing during the ice times. Also as mentioned fish as close to a warm spring as you dare. Bring a game boy or cell phone and be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait because commonly ice fishing for cats will certainly test your dedication. One other suggestion I would offer, try attacting your offering to a glow crub or tube this time of year and plan on fishing well into the darkness.. If you do, I might suggest you go shallow (2’-3’ depths)
if kaysvile is safe I have caught some good cats threw the ice
Hey thanks. All of the information you guys have given me has been extremely helpful. Good fishing[fishin]
use beef liver instead of worms. cats go crazy for it. just remember if you don’t get a hit after a while (say no more than 60 minutes or even less) to change out the bait with a fresh piece